New Shampoo
by Pinkbowbunny
Summary: The title is pretty self-explanatory. A drabble about Helga being obsessed with Arnold's new shampoo... XD XP


It was driving her. Absolutely. CRAZY!

What WAS that new shampoo?!

It was DEFINITELY new. She'd notice it right away because it was one of the Top Five things she loved about him, number Three: His personal hygiene. Most other boys smelled disgusting, but Arnold had exceptional hygiene and always smelled clean and fresh, like he'd just been scrubbed… Oh what she wouldn't do to scrub-

COUGH!

So yes! She'd notice when he changed his soap and shampoo, and he always used to wash his hair with the strawberry-scented stuff. Not exactly the good stuff either, Helga had loved it despite how obviously artificial it was. But now… He had switched to something of much better quality, something citrus-y. Helga still missed the strawberry stuff, but this new product he was using now… It was just _heavenly_ …!

It was mostly similar to orange, she was pretty sure, but there was something else there, something more on the exotic side… Something… Tangy.

Mmmm~! SO tangy…

But still oh-so sweet, sweet like honey and flowers… It set her senses ablaze whenever she got even the slightest whiff of it. And now that she and Arnold were officially dating, he was following her around almost as much as she followed him. So that scent was always nearby, teasing her. Tempting her…

Then one night Arnold invites her to come to his house for dinner. She couldn't pass it up. Her family hardly ever made a home-cooked meal, so she always jumped at the chance to eat at someone else's. Bliss' counseling had been making some breakthroughs lately, and Helga even managed to keep all criticism to herself, and politely compliment her host's cooking and thank them for it. But then again, Stella and Miles were really good cooks too, so it wasn't that hard to manage. Hard to judge when you accept second helpings!

Plus Arnold's parents aren't judgmental either, and they kindly let her and Arnold sit next to each other at the table, which puts her in an extra good mood with them, because it allows her to smell his wonderful tangy-sweet smell. Unable to resist temptation, she can't help but turn her head here and there, and take a quick sniff of his exotic fruity scent…

Maybe just another quick sniff… Okay whoops, maybe that one turned out to be a bit less quick, she realizes, when Arnold glances up at her from his dinner. He blinks as she freezes, then smirks as her cheeks fill with color and she quickly turns away. But then to her added mortification, she realizes Stella is looking at her too…

She quickly looks down at her plate and shovels her mouth full of mashed potatoes. Stella smiles and forks a few green beans absentmindedly while she ponders what to do with that girl…

Helga isn't just blushing now, she's sweating. Of course perfect Arnold has the Perfect Parents, reasonable and tolerant, but they had to have their limits. She was pretty sure she had to get a talking-to about this before the night was through…

But when they saw her off at the door, it seemed like they might not mention it after all.

"Sure you don't want me to walk you home?" Arnold stressed over her.

She rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine, Arnoldo. I've walked alone before plenty of times. Besides, there's always the Five Avengers and Ol' Betsy!"

Stella shakes her head then. "Helga, it's just not safe out there. Promise you'll at least call us if you need anything?"

Helga blushed again, but this time for a different reason. The way Stella worried over and cared about her… It was nice, but kinda embarrassing. The walk wasn't even that long. Still, she assured her, "Okay, Mrs. Shortman, I will…"

It reminded her quite starkly of how Perfect Arnold's parents truly were. It almost hurt to be on the outside looking in, on the kind of parents Helga wished she had, even though Stella made it clear they accepted her too. It was just up to Helga to accept that for herself. But in the meantime, she had to have herself at least a little woe over the parental figures she thought she would never have…

The hug Arnold gave her before she left helped, though. Oh, it helped a lot~

Then she left, and he closed the door behind her. She began to walk down the street, but before she reached the end of it, Stella had come out of the boarding house, jogging after Helga and calling to her.

"Yes, Mrs. S?" Helga inquired, trying to play it cool, but she was sweating again. Oh boy, here it came…

When Stella finally reached her, she sauntered up with her hands behind her back. "So, Helga… I couldn't help but notice you were smelling my son's hair a lot tonight… I just wanted to let you know…" Oh dang. Oh man. Here it came! "…It's Papaya."

"…What."

Stella smiled patiently with the bewildered girl, and pulled out the bottle she was hiding behind her back as she explained, "The shampoo Arnold has been using lately, it's one I made myself! I make it with the essential oils of papayas, oranges, limes, and chamomile. It's very good for keeping blonde hair nice and shiny~ And it just smells great! As I see you noticed, haha~ So here! You can have some for yourself!"

…No way. No way. No way no way no way. Mrs. Shortman there is NO WAY you are THIS flippin' perfect…!

A bottle of Arnold's shampoo… A shampoo that isn't sold in stores anywhere because his mother makes it herself. A shampoo full of Arnold's heavenly scent that she can now take back to… Her… Own… Shower…

Which she suddenly feels the very pressing need to be. She quickly snatches the bottle, sputters back, "Th-Thank you!" And runs at full speed with it in the opposite direction.

Stella chuckles, then heads back into the boarding house. Miles is waiting inside the front door, his arms crossed, a knowing smirk on his face. "The shampoo, right? That stuff used to drive me crazy!"

Stella gives him one of her sly winks, hands on her hips. "Works every time~"

Not that her son needed any help in the romance department… But surely it didn't hurt to have a mother who knew of just about every aphrodisiac in the rain forest either~


End file.
